Featured at Cafe Astrology:

Synastry: Sun - Mars Aspects

When the Sun in one chart forms an aspect to another person's
Mars

With Sun-Mars aspects in romantic
synastry, the partners can't help but "feel" each other's physical
presence. The aspect between the two planets tells much about how
coordinated each individual's energy cycles and goals are.

When
the aspect is a flowing one, the timing and rhythm in your
relationship is natural and flowing. The sextile and trine of Sun
and Mars in synastry is very much a blessing, as neither of you
gets in your partner's way very often, and there is a distinct
feeling of "going somewhere". When it is a challenging aspect,
however, a lot of time is wasted on arguments. You tend to get on
each other's nerves and each of you can easily feel blocked by the
other, and annoyed with your partner!

No matter what the aspect
is, the relationship is a very stimulating and dynamic one. There
is a certain level of intensity in your partnership that can best
be described as passion, although Sun-Mars alone does not make for
the ecstatic type of romantic excitement that would occur if, for
example, the Moon, Venus, or Pluto were involved. With challenging
aspects, such as the square, opposition, and quincunx, sparks can
certainly fly. What may start out as an overwhelming sexual and
physical attraction can degenerate, over time, to petty arguments
and real annoyances with each other. "What did I see in you?" may
be the dominating thoughts (or the uttered phrases in a heated
argument). There is an element of competition between you that is
unmistakable, but must be channeled properly. You challenge one
another, and there can be a fine line between finding this
stimulating and feeling completely drained as a result. In
arguments, the Sun person has a tendency to be self-righteous, and
the Mars person tends to be very touchy, defensive, and combative.

With Sun conjunct Mars in synastry,
there is a real physical connection between the two that generally
presents itself as sexual attraction and physical chemistry. There
is a true feeling of progressiveness and energy between the two of
you. The potential to both challenge each other and frustrate each
other, as discussed above, is somewhat high, but generally you both
feel that you are headed somewhere with each other, and your
personal energy cycles are boosted as the result of interaction with
your partner. Sexual attraction is very high. Both feel the other
person is their "type", and each tends to get a real ego boost and
energy buzz from their partner. Arguments tend to be highly personal
and subjective. The biggest complaint from the Mars person is
that the Sun person is too judgmental or self-righteous, while the
Sun person finds Mars overly defensive. Touchiness is probably the
biggest problem between the two of you. Each of you knows how to
push the other's buttons, and the attraction between you is spunky.

As noted above, the sextile and
trine between Sun and Mars in synastry is a real blessing in any
relationship. Neither of you feels blocked or drained by your
partner. You somehow manage to stay out of each other's way and
promote each other's goals and drives. As with all sextiles and
trines (but especially the trine), the couple should stop to
consider the energy and to appreciate it. What comes to mind is a
couple who consulted me for a relationship analysis who had a very
tight and strong trine between the Sun and Mars. When I mentioned
that they would be likely to promote each other's goals, allowing
each other to do and to accomplish what they want as individuals
without blocking each other, they agreed, but were somewhat
surprised. They didn't quite realize how positive this energy was
between them. They gave each other space and respected each other's
personal goals. If they had experienced a partnership with, for
example, a tight Sun square Mars, they probably would have noticed
this flowing rhythm to their partnership and appreciated it more. In
their case, despite the challenges of looking after a large family,
including many kids and in-laws, the couple always seemed to
naturally develop strategies that supported one another's basic
goals and activities. Although they had distinctly different hobbies
and activities, they had developed routines wherein each was able to
carry out these individual endeavors without frustration and
annoyance from their partner.

With the sextile, trine, and the
conjunction, you express yourselves straightforwardly with each
other, on both non-sexual and sexual levels, which is extremely
empowering and refreshing. You can turn to each other to pull
yourselves out of ruts or periods of despondency. The Sun person
could admire the Mars person's spunk, drive, and courage. For
example, one woman whose Sun trines her husband's Mars admits, after
years together, that she is completely infatuated with him. He is a
construction worker, and she says her heart still goes "pitter
patter" when she sees him at work, physically laboring. She says
that before she met him, she had no special interest (positive or
negative) in manual labor as a specific turn-on. Surely, this is the
Sun trine Mars aspect at work!

The square, opposition, and
quincunx can be very challenging and tricky--and decidedly draining!
The tendency to become highly annoyed with each other is highest
with the square. The opposition tends to be the least problematic of
these three aspects, and has the potential to be really quite
invigorating. The quincunx tends to really nag at a couple over
time, as they must make what seems to be constant adjustments to
each other. The tendency to interrupt each other, argue, and to be
annoyed with each other's natural rhythms and manners is very high.

Alternate interpretations:

When Sun is conjunct Mars in synastry, there is a wonderful feeling of being "in
sync" with each other's natural body rhythms and cycles. This
is a very physical contact, and physical attraction is likely. You
feel that your partner is exactly your "type". This is
the kind of chemistry in which you simply look at a person and feel
turned on. The energy between you is unmistakable. Sometimes, you
feel invigorated by each other, not unlike stepping out of an
overdue shower. Other times, the urgency of the energy between the
two of you may feel a little too intense for your mood. What is
most apparent is that neither of you seems to need to waste time
adjusting to your partner's cycles of activity. You make an
enthusiastic pair.

When Sun is sextile or trine Mars
in synastry, you feel a wonderful sense of harmony in terms of
your individual rhythms. Neither of you gets in each other's way,
and your partnership is characterized by a certain amount of
independence and some real productivity. While other couples waste
a lot of time adjusting to each other's natural rhythms, you find
it easy to move in the directions you want to head without
stepping on each other's toes. You motivate each other in simple
ways, if only because you accept each other's ambitions, drives,
and cycles of activity. This is one of the best supportive aspects
a relationship can have, as the two of you don't face off as often
as many couples do, and you accomplish your goals much as you would on your
own. This way, you don't feel like you prevent each other from
producing or doing the things you want to do.

The square and quincunx of the
Sun and Mars in synastry is a bit of a challenge. More often than
not, you feel out of sync with each other. You feel the need to
explain why you are doing something a bit too often to be
productive. You step on each other's toes. Turning it all into a
graceful dance can be challenging, but not unheard of. You need to accept
that you have different natural rhythms, and you should try to
avoid becoming annoyed with each other for these differences.
Confrontations can be stimulating and even invigorating, but too
many of them are draining. The last thing you want to do is sap
each other's energy, but it seems almost par for the course that
you do. The sexual energy between you can be intense, but again,
somewhat out of sync. Defensiveness and haughtiness can be themes
of your relationship. Accept that you have markedly different
styles of going about things, and try not to focus on the little
things. There is passion between the two of you, and, as they say,
a fine line between love and hate. As the result of your
relationship, you may live out this expression.

The opposition of Sun and Mars in synastry brings a touch of defensiveness and competitiveness into
your chemistry. The Sun person may find the Mars person's way of
doing things somewhat annoying from time to time, and the Mars
person reacts with defensiveness. There is an energy of "I
can do things better than you" or "This is the way
things should really be done" in your relationship,
particularly coming from the Sun person. There is physical
attraction between the two of you, no doubt, but sometimes you
waste your time getting on each other's cases. You are also prone
to stepping on one another's toes because your cycles of activity
are not in sync.